Scope and Content Note
The papers of John Sherman (1823-1900) span the years 1836 to 1900, with most of the material originating between 1857 and 1894. The collection includes correspondence, scrapbooks, commissions and awards, a small number of speeches, material on fiscal matters and an investigation into the affairs of Kansas in 1854, and biographical data. The collection is arranged in six series: General Correspondence, Letterpress Copybooks, Scrapbooks, Miscellany, Oversize, and Microfilm.
The papers contain Sherman's correspondence with his family while he attended school in Pennsylvania, and his correspondence as a United States Representative from Ohio, as a United States senator, as secretary of the treasury under President Rutherford Birchard Hayes and later as secretary of state under President William McKinley. Throughout the collection there is material relating to his role as a leader in Ohio politics from the 1850s to his death.
Correspondents include Susan B. Anthony, Cornelius Aultman, Warner M. Bateman, Montgomery Blair, Simon Cameron, Salmon P. Chase, Grover Cleveland, John A. J. Creswell, Samuel Ryan Curtis, Columbus Delano, Joe W. Dwyer, Cyrus W. Field, Hamilton Fish (1808-1893), James A. Garfield, Ulysses S. Grant, Walter Quintin Gresham, J. Hadley, Rutherford Birchard Hayes, E. Z. Hays, Andrew Hickenlooper, Francis Lieber, Daniel Manning, Absalom H. Markland, William McKinley, E. W. Metcalf, Levi P. Morton, Fitz-John Porter, Matthew Stanley Quay, T. A. Reamy, Thomas B. Reed, L. D. Reynolds, Joan B. Senter, Mary Hoyt Sherman (mother), John Sherman I, Frances (Fanny) Beecher Sherman and Susan Denman Sherman (sisters), William T. Sherman (brother), St. John B. L. Skinner, Edwin McMasters Stanton, Thaddeus Stevens, James Stewart (father-in-law), J. W. Stoddard (cousin), W. H. Upson, Thurlow Weed, and John E. Williams.
Dates
- Creation: 1836-1900
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1857-1894
Language of Materials
Collection material in English
Access and Restrictions
The papers of John Sherman are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.
Copyright Status
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of John Sherman is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
Biographical Note
Biographical Note
- 1823, May 10
- Born, Lancaster, Ohio
- 1835 - 1837
- Attended Howe's Academy, Lancaster, Ohio
- 1840
- Studied law under Judge Jacob Parker (an uncle) and Charles T. Sherman (eldest brother)
- 1844
- Admitted to the bar in Ohio
- 1848
- Married Margaret Sarah Cecilia Stewart
- 1854
- Elected to the House of Representatives as a Republican from Ohio; served on Committee of Inquiry to Kansas
- 1855
- President of first Republican convention in Ohio
- 1861
- Elected to Senate from Ohio
- 1868
- Voted to convict President Andrew Johnson
- 1877
- Appointed secretary of the treasury
- 1881
- Re-elected to the Senate from Ohio
- 1880
- Unsuccessfully sought Republican Party nomination for president
- 1884
- Unsuccessfully sought Republican Party nomination for president
- 1885 - 1887
- President pro tempore of the Senate
- 1886
- Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Committee
- 1888
- Unsuccessfully sought Republican Party nomination for president
- 1890
- Led action for successful passage of antitrust and silver purchase acts.
- 1897
- Resigned from the Senate to become secretary of state
- 1898
- Resigned as secretary of state
- 1900, Oct. 22
- Died, Washington, D.C.
Extent
130,000 items
618 containers
1 oversize
132 linear feet
2 microfilm reels
Abstract
Secretary of state, secretary of the treasury, and United States senator and representative from Ohio. Correspondence, scrapbooks, printed matter, and other papers chiefly relating to Sherman's role in Ohio politics after 1850. Includes family correspondence during Sherman's school years, general correspondence during his years in Congress and the cabinet, and papers relating to Kansas in the 1850s when he was a member of the House of Representatives committee investigating conditions in the territory.
Arrangement of the Papers
The collection is arranged in six series:
Catalog Record
Acquisition Information
The papers of John Sherman, secretary of state, secretary of the treasury, and U.S. senator and representative from Ohio, were given to the Library of Congress by his nephews, Hoyt Sherman and Philemon Tecumseh Sherman, in 1911. Mary McCallum, the daughter of John Sherman, deposited additional material in 1918 with the stipulation that selected photocopies be made and most of the original manuscripts returned to her. The resultant photocopies were incorporated into the collection. During the 1930s, other photocopies of original material in private hands were added to the collection, the most noteworthy being two reels of microfilm of letters received by Sherman in the years 1848 to 1893. Small additions of original manuscripts were also incorporated into the collection prior to 1948.
Microfilm
Microfilm on two reels was received as part of these papers and is listed and described in this finding aid. Consult reference staff in the Manuscript Division concerning availability for purchase or interlibrary loan.
Processing History
The John Sherman Papers were processed circa 1970. The finding aid was revised in 2010.
Source
- Sherman, John, 1823-1900 (Creator, Person)
Subject
- Anthony, Susan B. (Susan Brownell), 1820-1906--Correspondence. (Person)
- Aultman, Cornelius, 1827-1884--Correspondence. (Person)
- Bateman, Warner M. (Warner Mifflin), 1827-1897--Correspondence. (Person)
- Blair, Montgomery, 1813-1883--Correspondence. (Person)
- Cameron, Simon, 1799-1889--Correspondence. (Person)
- Chase, Salmon P. (Salmon Portland), 1808-1873--Correspondence. (Person)
- Cleveland, Grover, 1837-1908--Correspondence. (Person)
- Creswell, John A. J., 1828-1891--Correspondence. (Person)
- Curtis, Samuel Ryan, 1805-1866--Correspondence. (Person)
- Delano, Columbus, 1809-1896--Correspondence. (Person)
- Dwyer, Joe W.--Correspondence. (Person)
- Field, Cyrus W. (Cyrus West), 1819-1892--Correspondence. (Person)
- Fish, Hamilton, 1808-1893--Correspondence. (Person)
- Garfield, James A. (James Abram), 1831-1881--Correspondence. (Person)
- Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885--Correspondence. (Person)
- Gresham, Walter Quintin, 1832-1895--Correspondence. (Person)
- Hadley, J.--Correspondence. (Person)
- Hayes, Rutherford B., 1822-1893--Correspondence. (Person)
- Hayes, Rutherford B., 1822-1893. (Person)
- Hays, E. Z. (Ebenezer Z.)--Correspondence. (Person)
- Hickenlooper, Andrew, 1837-1904--Correspondence. (Person)
- Lieber, Francis, 1800-1872--Correspondence. (Person)
- Manning, Daniel, 1831-1887--Correspondence. (Person)
- Markland, Absalom H., -1888--Correspondence. (Person)
- McKinley, William, 1843-1901--Correspondence. (Person)
- McKinley, William, 1843-1901. (Person)
- Metcalf, E. W. (Eliab Wight), 1827-1899--Correspondence. (Person)
- Morton, Levi P. (Levi Parsons), 1824-1920--Correspondence. (Person)
- Porter, Fitz-John, 1822-1901--Correspondence. (Person)
- Quay, Matthew Stanley, 1833-1904--Correspondence. (Person)
- Reamy, T. A. (Thaddeus Asbury), 1829-1909--Correspondence. (Person)
- Reed, Thomas B. (Thomas Brackett), 1839-1902--Correspondence. (Person)
- Reynolds, L. D.--Correspondence. (Person)
- Sherman, Frances Beecher, 1829-1889--Correspondence. (Person)
- Sherman, John, 1796-1841--Correspondence. (Person)
- Sherman, John, 1823-1900. (Person)
- Sherman, Mary Hoyt, 1787-1852--Correspondence. (Person)
- Sherman, Susan Denman, 1825-1876--Correspondence. (Person)
- Sherman, William T. (William Tecumseh), 1820-1891--Correspondence. (Person)
- Skinner, St. John B. L., 1797 or 1798-1873--Correspondence. (Person)
- Stanton, Edwin M. (Edwin McMasters), 1814-1869--Correspondence. (Person)
- Stevens, Thaddeus, 1792-1868--Correspondence. (Person)
- Stewart, James (Judge)--Correspondence. (Person)
- Stoddard, J. W. (John Williams), 1837-1917--Correspondence. (Person)
- Upson, W. H. (William Hanford), 1823-1910--Correspondence. (Person)
- Weed, Thurlow, 1797-1882--Correspondence. (Person)
- Williams, John E. (John Earl), 1804-1877--Correspondence. (Person)
- United States. Congress. (Organization)
- United States. Department of State. (Organization)
- United States. Department of the Treasury . Office of the Secretary. (Organization)
- Title
- John Sherman Papers
- Subtitle
- A Finding Aid to the Collection in the Library of Congress
- Author
- Prepared by Manuscript Division Staff
- Date
- 2010
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Part of the Manuscript Division Repository
Manuscript Reading Room
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